Month: January 2015

Want to own your own home, but stuck, temporarily, renting until you can? You aren’t alone. Wolf Richter outlined a pretty eery scenario. The 2008 financial Armageddon was in larger part a result of the housing bubble bursting. Thanks to the subprime mortgage scandal millions of homeowners were put in homes they couldn’t afford, making the awful game of musical chairs an inevitable and tragic charade.

Maestro to the musical chairs was Goldman Sachs, who unbeknownst to the public, was selling toxic securities for risky mortgages, while secretly betting on the collapse of the housing market. According to McClatchy:

In 2006 and 2007, Goldman Sachs Group peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but never told the buyers it was secretly betting that a sharp drop in U.S. housing prices would send the value of those securities plummeting.

Everyone was swept up in the chaos. Goldman Sachs and the other banks got bailed out. The public absorbed the costs, and the Federal Reserve set out on the biggest intervention since World War II.

The housing market has been healed by the Fed’s bold actions, we’re told incessantly…. Prices have soared over the last three years, and in some cities, like San Francisco, they have soared far beyond the prior crazy bubble peak. So we admit grudgingly that the Fed’s six-year money-printing and interest-rate-repression campaign, designed to inflate every asset price in sight even to absurdity, has worked.

However, an essential element in a healthy housing market – people who actually live in homes they own – has been dissipating. The homeownership rate peaked in 2004 at 69.2%. It was during the prior housing bubble. Speculative buying drove up prices beyond the reach of many potential buyers.

While Dr. Jim Willie slams us with the breaking news that the US dollar WILL NOT SURVIVE through 2015, many Americans across the country are doing what they need to do survive the death of the dollar while most others clearly do not have a clue about what is soon to be coming our way. Dr. Wiliie gives us great reasons why we’re now at the final stages of the ‘end game’, telling us that 10 significant ‘end times events’ have happened in the last 3 weeks alone, an alarming pace that tells us that ‘something big, ugly and nasty’ is coming our way. Warning that the remainder of 2015 will be ‘extremely messy, extremely chaotic and extremely important’, we’re also told that ‘full fireworks’ will accompany the takedown of the Wall Street/London ‘crime syndicate’ as the 7-year cycle plays out. Finally, we’re warned to prepare ourselves for some ‘conclusion events’ as the dollar’s current rise also signals its’ demise. Video reports on how best to survive the dollar collapse, including investing in silver and gold as SOLID currencies that have been used for THOUSANDS of years, are below.

The forecast for fast acceleration of events into the January month has occurred on schedule. Normally a very big event occurs every several weeks, or every few months. In just the last three weeks, ten have taken place of significance.

The pace has quickened in an alarming fashion. The Great Quickening has commenced.

Something big, ugly, and nasty this way comes
.
The disruptive events and pace of systemic breakdown are surely going to continue. The year will go down in history as extremely messy, extremely chaotic, and extremely important in the demise of the USDollar.

Check the 7-year cycle for an amazing sequence that goes back to the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo, the 1980 Gold & Silver Hunt Brothers peak, the 1987 Black Monday, the 1994 Irrational Exuberance with ensuing Asian Meltdown, the 2001 Inside 9/11 Job, and the 2008 Lehman failure.
The Year 2015 will be known for the USDollar demise with full fireworks.

With the acceleration of events in progress and in view, the pressures will grow against the entire King Dollar Court, the corrupt fortresses in Wall Street and London Centre, the crime syndicate hive.
The USDollar will not survive the year.

People had better prepare themselves for some conclusion events, certain to occur with fireworks. The USDollar is soon to go away, put to rest, killed off. Its rise signals its demise. The hidden dismantle of the Petro-Dollar mechanism has been eerie, mysterious, and full of intrigue. The Gold Standard will return, but through the trade window. The solution to the untreated Global Financial Crisis is the gold route. The Eurasian Trade Zone will be built upon the gold route, and see a revival of the Silk Road. It cannot be stopped, not even by war. The safe haven is not the USDollar, but rather Gold & Silver bars & coins, otherwise defined as money.

This week’s revelation that the wealthy are purchasing secret hideaways in remote locations in order to escape social upheaval and possible riots is the culmination of Zbigniew Brzezinski’s warning that a worldwide “political awakening” is serving to derail the move towards further global centralization of power.
Economist Robert Johnson made headlines at the recent Davos Economic Forum when he revealed that “hedge fund managers all over the world….are buying airstrips and farms in places like New Zealand because they think they need a getaway.”
Johnson cited income inequality and the potential for civil unrest and riots as the reason for the panic.
“A lot of wealthy and powerful people are quite afraid right now – they see us on an unstable trajectory,” said Johnson. “As the system doesn’t have proper resources, as it doesn’t represent people, things are getting more and more dangerous as say Ferguson, Missouri brings to bear.”
However, Johnson’s warning is nothing new – the super rich have been busy securing property in safe heavens for at least five years in anticipation of the next financial collapse.
In 2010, John Malone, billionaire chairman of Liberty Media, announced that he had bought a retreat on the Quebec border as an insurance policy to “have a place to go if things blow up here,” adding that he was concerned about the survival of the dollar and whether or not “America (was) going to make it” through the economic crisis.
In 2012, Hollywood director James Cameron also announced his decision to leave America and move his entire family to a 1,067 hectare farm in New Zealand.
The Bush family also purchased 100,000 acres in Paraguay back as far back as 2006.
There are several reasons why the rich are preparing to flee, but the main factor is the rise of income inequality – a factor that Zbigniew Brzezinski blamed for the “global political awakening” that poses a direct threat to the elite’s bid to further centralize power.
“For the first time in all of human history mankind is politically awakened – that’s a total new reality – it has not been so for most of human history,” said Brzezinski during a 2010 Council on Foreign Relations speech in Montreal, adding that the development was borne out of “global inequities, inequalities, lack of respect, exploitation”.
Brzezinski made similar comments during a November 2012 speech in Poland, in which he admitted that a worldwide “resistance” movement to “external control” driven by “populist activism” is threatening to derail the move towards a new world order.
The former US National Security Advisor also noted that “persistent and highly motivated populist resistance of politically awakened and historically resentful peoples to external control has proven to be increasingly difficult to suppress.”
It is important to note that Brzezinski was not championing this development. In his 1970 book Between Two Ages: America’s Role in the Technotronic Era, the former Obama advisor heralded the arrival of a technotronic era “dominated by an elite, unrestrained by traditional values” under which citizens would be tightly controlled and manipulated.
The likelihood of widespread disenfranchisement and economic turbulence causing civil unrest has also been repeatedly invoked by economist Martin Armstrong, who correctly predicted the 1987 Black Monday crash as well as the 1998 Russian financial collapse.

People have a hard time understanding how inflation erodes their purchasing power. Little by little the cost of everything goes up and people simply assume this is normal in an economy. The $2 movie ticket becomes a $8 movie ticket. That can of tuna just got smaller but the price remains the same. The cost of going to college went from manageable to needing large student debt merely to complete a four year degree. Inflation is argued to be a purely monetary outcome. You have too much money, in the form of cash or credit in today’s case, chasing fewer goods. In our current economy, debt is the fuel accelerating inflation. You can see this in items like housing, cars, and college where debt is the primary fuel driving prices higher. The big problem today is that incomes are simply not rising fast enough to keep up with the rise in other expenses. Over time, inflation has a big destructive power. I thought it would be useful to look at the cost of typical items in 1938 and compare them to where things stand in 2015.
Comparing 1938 to 2015
Over a year ago, we looked at some old data and found this to be useful to readers. I thought it would be helpful to update the data and see where things stand today in 2015. Someone sent this snapshot of the cost of living in 1938. It really is fascinating looking at inflation over a very long period of time. In this case, we are looking at spending pre-World War II. Most Americans probably have no sense as to what the cost of living was back then since they are mired in the fight of living paycheck to paycheck.
Take a look at the cost of living in 1938:

Source: Reddit
What is important is to look at income in relation to the cost of living. A new home was about twice the annual average income. Today, with the median household income being $50,000 and your typical new home costing $298,000 we are definitely on the more expensive side (6 times annual income versus 2 back in 1938). Look at the new car costs. A new car cost about $860 or half of annual income. Today, a regular car can cost $32,000 and most will need to finance it. Tuition to Harvard was $420 per year and today Harvard tuition is nearly $62,000 with room and board:

With all eyes now on Europe as shared in the 2nd video below from FTMDaily as massive money-printing has been unleashed as a response to the ever-expanding Euro debt crisis, Gregory Mannarino issues us a HUGE RED ALERT in the 1st video as the global economic situation goes critical and world banks now SO DESPERATE to keep the ‘healthy global economy’ illusion afloat that they are going negative.

Mannarino tells us that today, Thursday January 22, 2015, is another day that will live in infamy as the ECB’s full on money printing will lead to further debt, debt that will eventually have to be ‘balanced out’, and Mannarino warns us that we are now ‘dangerously close’ to that time.

With poor economic news now breaking out across the globe as shared in the 2nd video below from FTM, economist Jerry Robinson shares with us what is REALLY happening now to the global economy and breaks down for us each of today’s top stories including the Swiss National Bank decision to unpeg from the Euro and where that will likely take us as well as an important ‘precious metals’ alert for anyone who is considering investing in 2015. In closing, CFP Thomas Cloud joins the show to talk about the Bible and the amazing facts that there are MORE Biblical verses which discuss ‘money and possessions’ than verses that discuss ‘faith, hope and love’ combined.

In the aftermath of last week’s black swan announcement by the Swiss and on the heels of the ECB’s announcement that they are going to inject $1.3 trillion of stimulus into Europe’s beleaguered banking system and bond market, today former U.S. Treasury official, Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, warned King World News that the whole world is staring at the barrel of a gun as global collapse looms.

Eric King: “The ECB just made the announcement that they are planning to inject $1.3 trillion in stimulus into the European banking system and bond markets. What is this really all about?”

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: “Eric, we now have the yen being printed in vast quantities. The Fed has supposedly stopped printing the U.S. dollar but it really hasn’t because during the period of quantitative easing the banks received $2.6 trillion. All that money is available and will continue to be used to buy bonds. Of course the Fed itself has $4.5 trillion on its balance sheet and as it receives interest payments it will also continue to buy bonds.

So you have quantitative easing in Japan, in the United States, and now we have it once again in Europe. So the three large currencies — yen, dollar, and euro — are being created at an alarming rate….

“The effect of this is that it forces other countries to print money so that their own currencies don’t soar in value relative to the yen, dollar, and euro, which would undermine their export markets and economies. One country has already broken ranks from these insane policies. The Swiss realized that they could not possibly keep the peg intact, so they abandoned that last week in the announcement that shocked the world.

Whole World Staring Down The Barrel Of A Gun

So we have a situation where the United States, the EU, and Japan have the whole world staring down the barrel of a gun. They are forcing inflation on the entire world. You have to ask yourself: Why do the United States, Japan, and the EU have a right to do this and who benefits? Well, the answer is that the elite benefit from this policy. This a way of further enriching a tiny amount of people at the expense of everybody else in the world. This is all about enriching the elite. That’s all this is about, and the rest of the population in the world is paying for it.”

Terrifying Warning

Eric King: “Today Egon von Greyerz, the man who predicted collapse of the euro against the Swiss franc just 52 days ago, made the frightening prediction of total global collapse. Greyerz said that all of the central banks are bankrupt and that’s why the world’s financial system will not survive and a total global collapse is in front of us — your thoughts on this ominous warning from Greyerz.”

Dr. Roberts: “He is right that we are facing a global collapse. Central banks have paid 100 cents on the dollar for assets that may not even be worth one cent on the dollar. What’s also driving the world to economic collapse is the fact that the central banks are recklessly printing unprecedented amounts of fiat money to keep their global Ponzi scheme going.

Horrific Situation

So you have these unprecedented amounts of fiat paper money hanging over the global economy. This vast amount of paper money has not been matched by real economic production. It’s the implication of that horrific circumstance that will also cause the global collapse.

What would it have meant if Switzerland had continued to hold the currency peg? It would have meant the Swiss would have ended up with a much larger money supply then the entire annual Gross National Product of Switzerland. The implications of that are hard to fathom. It would have meant that there were more Swiss francs in existence than could be used to buy up all the annual goods and service produced by Switzerland.

Mega-Catastrophe To Destroy Average Citizen

And there is a complicity by the elite who are caught up in this unprecedented global money printing scheme. They are all caught up in the corruption. But at some point people will realize this is worse than a Ponzi scheme. They will realize this insane policy has the world headed for collapse.

All of this corruption is overwhelming to sensible people. So the central banks are only serving the interests of the elite and that is where the collapse will come from. There is no connection between the monetary policy in the United States, Europe, and Japan, and the people. In fact, the elite have the entire world headed for a mega-catastrophe that is sure to financially destroy the average person and send the world into total chaos.”

In times of crises, the government has proven, time and time again, that it cannot be counted on to adequately protect the American people. As the American people have not prepared for the coming dark days, they will be vulnerable to starvation, dehydration, cholera, pandemics and attacks from resource-deficient looters. Will the government be there to save them? History has already answered this question in the negative. Events such as Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, L.A. riots and the Ferguson riots have repeatedly demonstrated that when trouble comes, the American people will be on their own.

When disaster strikes, it will take less than 24 hours until grocery stores are empty, the utilities are down and neighbors begin to prey upon neighbors.

Obama Criminalizes Independence

Certainly, no government can be all things to all people. Subsequently, the government should be in the business of encouraging its citizens to be independent. However, the Obama administration has taken the opposite approach. Instead of the government empowering the people to be self-sufficient, this administration is punishing independence and self sufficiency.

DHS actually published a “Right Wing Extremism Manual which demonizes and targets normal citizens with labels such as “preppers” and have further defined the act of becoming self-sufficient as being the actions of a domestic terrorist. It is ironic that DHS is the one who has ordered millions of FEMA caskets, 2700 armored personnel carriers and 2.2 billion rounds of ammunition. Yet, it is only the wholly independent people, only desiring to be left alone by their government, are labeled as domestic terrorists.
America Is Witnessing the Manifestation of Agenda 21

Any aware person knows that Agenda 21 is predicated on eliminating private property ownership and keeping all people within the “system”. Drinking raw milk, engaging in off the grid living and heating your home with a wood stove is forbidden. All of these prohibitions and more are presently encircling America as the Agenda 21 noose is tightening around collective necks.

Many unaware Americans still mistakenly believe that they have dominion over their lives and personal choices. These same people mistakenly believe that the government does not care if you want to live independently of their corporate cronies who own the utilities. They want you in their system so they can continue to exploit your resources for their benefit. Take the case of Robin Speronis who tried opting for renewable non-grid tied power and utilize environmentally friendly composting toilets and his own self-sufficient water supply. If one commits these acts in Florida, that person could go to jail.

The events of the past few months seem astounding when taken in all at once. It appears to be a plan to destroy the U.S. dollar and the American middle class. And it seems to be moving faster.

In the wake of the March 2013 Cyprus ‘bail in’, where depositor accounts were used to save creditors, the G20 nations agreed that bank deposits would no longer be considered money.

These deposits are instead the property of the banking institution. Remember that possession is always nine-tenths of the law. (They are simply re-institutionalizing the concept under the guise of what’s best for us.)

In other words, if you have money in a bank, you are actually an investor in that bank, subject to losses in the event of crisis rather than protection by deposit insurance.

When interest rates are already zero and central bank balance sheets have lulled the world financial system into a state of shock, seeking the low hanging fruit is the natural progression…

And much easier than going door to door looking for gold and silver coins.

Add to that the recent spending bill passed by the U.S. Congress, which makes the American taxpayer responsible for any derivatives loses that banks may suffer.

Less than two weeks after Citigroup inserted its own very specific language into the bill, they suddenly revealed their new and massive derivatives position.

And the news cycle played on. New legislation now gives pension plans the ability to cut benefits to pensioners in the future – making the future welfare of these people uncertain to the point that many will be forced to join the invisible lines of welfare. First reluctantly, but not soon after, out of necessity.

While at the same time, the Treasury Advisory Board has been officially, if not quietly signaling, warning of the coming credit freeze for more than two years.

And if you don’t think there is any danger of a banking crisis in America you may want to keep in mind that the Treasury Department has recently ordered $200k worth of 72 hr emergency kits for dispersion to every major bank in America.

The ongoing collapse in oil prices is sending waves throughout the world. It falls right in line with what appears to be motive to provoke a new world war.

For the past few years those elite with knowledge of the coming monetary destruction have been putting their fiat dollars into any hard assets they can find.

The poster child for this has been Warren Buffet. The influx of investor cash into domestic real estate and housing during most quarters over the last two years of purchases were all cash. Buffet and the like have continued to pour money into hard assets, though publicly pivoting off of his “gold as the barbarous relic” mantra.

It is fascinating how politically important these precious relics remain. It is as if the bashing and rhetoric only serves to seed new demand, even as they manipulate lower or cap the price.

Now record prices paid at auction for fine art and jewelry is yet another indicator that those ‘in the know’ are moving into hard assets as fast as they can to preserve their wealth. This includes precious metals.

No wonder there is the confounding debate about the identity of the big buyer of government issue silver coins. From the U.S. to Canada, the trend continues unabated despite the worst sentiment in many decades.

The next big financial market event will send ripples through the transportation, production and distribution system when it happens.

All of the paper gains from the recent re-boom – the jobs, the housing and real estate – everything grinds to a halt; transactions and the flow of credit and currency come screeching to a halt.

In a financial system with so little redundancy, this will come fast a furious, devastating those with few resources to fall back on – and long before the helicopter drops begin in earnest.

If you don’t hold it, you don’t own it – and there is little hope in protecting it.